The 2023 Iowa Trails Summit will be held at Iowa Valley Conference Center in Marshalltown with pre-conference activities and reception on Thursday, October 5. Friday, October 6 will feature a variety of speakers, break out sessions, and the keynotes, Amy Camp and Lora Friest.
On Thursday, Oct. 5 enjoy a bike ride and pre-conference reception.
- Soft Trails workshop (9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.): Join us to sharpen your dirt trail maintenance and development skills. Pete Englund of Legacy Trails will be walking us through this session including in the field hands-on training.
- Pre-conference bike ride begins at 4 p.m. Bikers will enjoy local trails during this free event but registration is required. Bike rental is not including.
- Pre-conference reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes hors d'oeuvres and drinks at the conference center while you mingle with other attendees. This is free event but registration is required.
Friday, October 6th will include discussion based panels of experts covering topics such as fundraising, planning/development, volunteer partnerships, and economic development/tourism. The networking and wealth of information sharing is sure to inspire attendees. Visit our website for more detailed information.
About the Keynote Speakers
Amy Camp, owner of Cycle Forward, is a trails and tourism consultant who helped launch the nationally recognized Trail Town Program® in 2007. She went on to establish Cycle Forward and is now celebrating 10 years in business. She supports local leaders and communities in trail town development, strengthening heritage tourism, and bolstering the outdoor recreation economy. Amy has consulted and led workshops throughout Appalachia, the Rust Belt, and other locations in the U.S. and Canada. Her book, Deciding on Trails, details the history of the Trail Town movement and recommends best practices for trail communities. Amy served on the Board of American Trails from 2012-17, and now serves on the Board of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. She is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation. Amy earned her Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she first grew to love communities and began her work to help improve them.
Lora Friest is the Tourism Liaison for the Iowa Tourism Office. She was the Executive Director for Northeast Iowa RC&D for over 20 years where she helped develop, market and maximize dozens of community and regional land and water trails. In her current position with IEDA Tourism Office, Friest to help maximize tourism partnership, projects and marketing for Iowa.
Lora will present tools and resources to take your trail to the next!